Viewing a single comment thread. View all comments

platoprime t1_jabl4vs wrote

Reply to comment by frogjg2003 in Why does temperature determine the sex of certain egg laying animals like crocodiles? by insink2300

No all genes are working against the force of entropy to exist. If there isn't a pressure keeping something from mutating like it being adaptive or changing it being maladaptive then it will eventually be replaced.

−5

frogjg2003 t1_jabmzb7 wrote

Mutations are random. You can't make a gene mutate in the wild.

When a gene mutation does occur, it is still largely unrelated random factors that will determine if the individual with that mutation survives to pass on the gene. Only once that mutation has spread to a large enough portion of the population, will statistical tends become significant.

If an established gene is not harmful enough to survival and mating, then diffusion will sustain it in the population. Random mating means that any sufficiently established gene will reach an equilibrium between selective pressure reducing its prevalence and diffusion bringing all alleles into equality.

12